Monday, March 8, 2010

29-28-9: One Is Better Than None, Again

For the second-straight Garden game the Rangers grabbed a point they did not deserve, losing 2-1 in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres Sunday night. After Thursday's wild 5-4 OT loss to the Pens, they lost 2-0 Saturday night on the road in Washington. It was a game where the coach called out the team for a lackluster effort. Well, they followed it up with ... you guessed it, another lackluster effort. But this one was mildly better. Mildly.

They, like the Sabres, seemingly spent two periods skating off hangovers from Saturday night. The Blueshirts woke up in the third but allowed Buffalo to get the lead. They miraculously managed to force overtime but - of course - blew it in the extra frame. On a night where Boston and Atlanta both lost, getting a point was big but two would have been huge. Oh well. Playoff invoices are in the mail for season ticket holders but remember, you can put that money towards next year.

Notes:

*In overtime of the gold medal game, Sidney Crosby took advantage of a fortuitous play to pot a simple shot past Ryan Miller. In overtime of this game Ryan Callahan created his own luck with a dynamic play down the ice to get Chris Drury an open look at an empty net vacated by Miller but, alas, Drury is no Crosby and couldn't come through as a hero. It was the second time in the game that Dru blew a chance down low and he is beginning to show that his impressive Olympic performance and the carry over in Ottawa was an aberration.

*Although better an aberration than an abomination, which is what the Ranger defense is. The lack of a physical blueline has haunted the team for years and it never ceases to hurt the team. You would think that the powers that be would realize that (more on them in a bit). Matt Gilroy had four, count 'em, four chances to knock the puck away from the Sabres on the first goal of the game and couldn't do it. Playing the Marek Malik/Michal Rozsival school of defense - swing your stick at them, maybe they will catch a cold, sneeze and lose the puck - Hobey didn't play the body a single time and Buffalo put it on net, where Adam Mair was able to bang it home.

*The game-winner was much the same, with two Rangers standing around while that head-hunting clown Patrick Kaleta got two swipes at the puck, banging it past Hank on the the second - one he wouldn't have had if he was knocked on his ass.

*Of course, no one seemed to take exception to Kaleta's over-the-top celebration across the Ranger logo at center ice, showing these Rangers have no pride in addition to no toughness. George Teague was suspended for a week for hitting Terrell Owens as he celebrated on the Cowboys' star but a message was sent around the NFL that no one disrespects the franchise.

*There is no disrespect intended for the organizers of the Fire Sather rally but it did not turn out particularly well. Sure, all the Ranger beat writers came out to witness it, but they ended up having a good laugh at the 75 or so fans in the pen across from the Garden. As someone said walking past me, 'if this was the 70s, there would have been thousands of fans here.' And he was probably right because in the 70s the fanbase was more hardcore and more organized. Now the hardcore have been priced out, the fan club is a shadow of itself and grassroot internet campaigns can't sway people away from their pre-game routines. Sad.

*It is sad that the Rangers haven't learned that going to the net is a good thing. You would think that they would realize that on the few occasions they have paid the price to get into the trenches, it has turned into goals. After spending most of the game thinking that open shots from the middle of the circles could somehow beat the Silver Medal-winning goaltender, Brandon Dubinsky took a few hits and banged home the equalizer on a late power play. Adam Graves is constantly around the team nowadays, how has that not rubbed off on these guys?

*It is upsetting that the Rangers lost this game but we really do have to be thankful to escape with a point. When the fourth line is more effective than the first line, well, defeat is usually inevitable. Brandon Prust and Jody Shelley were great yet again and if they were playing alongside a center with any kind of hands all night long, they would have netted a goal. Torts seemed to come to that conclusion as well, putting Prust with Dubi late in regulation but it was too late by then. I would love to see Brian Boyle bounced from the lineup for a night and Brodie Dupont given a shot.

*Arty Anisimov has been given a shot on the power play, perhaps by default as Tortorella grasps as straws. Arty had a great chance too when Mair was in the box but he was looking away from the play and had his stick in the air when the puck came across the ice. As has been written in this space before, Arty needs more seasoning and more muscle - he is not capable of top flight play yet.

*Sean Avery had a very good Sean Avery game. He bumped Miller a few times, clearly distracting him and almost had a goal - but sadly his shot rang off the iron.

*There were a decent number of Buffalo fans in the Garden and they were a loud, cocky bunch after their team scored each of their goals. It is remarkable how arrogant they are as a fanbase when their franchise has won zero Stanley Cups in 39 seasons, lost in the Finals twice and missed the playoffs the last two years.

Scotty Hockey Three Stars3-Cally - The Pinball simply doesn't take a shift off. 2-Hank - You have to wonder when he will have his agent start making demands of Sather to either get him some help or to trade him away. Hank is wasting some great years on a team that's on the road to nowhere. 1-Kaleta - As with guys like Jamie Langenbrunner, you have to respect that he steps up his play against the Rangers. You certainly don't have to like it, but you have to respect it. Hey, I'd whoop it up at center ice at the Mausoleum if I scored on them.

7 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Thank you for saying what I was thinking all night; there's no way in hell that Miller is letting a long bomb from the top of the circles past him. Not without traffic in front, or without someone to deflect the shot, which the Rangers rarely had.

Sammael said it a few games ago and sadly I agree; I don't want them to make the playoffs.I don't want there to be any silver lining or justification for the way this team has been mishandled by the GM.

It's about time to put the sticks away and polish off the golf clubs, boys.

Gilroy,Anisimov,Lisin,Voros,Shelly,Girardi.....Why are they in the NHL? Because of the Stupid salary cap that's why. The sport has diluted itself to the point that 4 to 6 players on 90% of the NHL rosters do not belong in the NHL.. Disgusting. Overpriced product.

Expansion is the initial problem. It has not been corrected it by instituting a cap. Without a cap , Cablevision could assemble talented 3d and 4th liners who actually were 3d and 4th liners..It would not have been an issue to sign, Heatly, Gaborik, and Pronger. How different would it be if we had Souray,Pronger and Heatley and Gaborik right now? As well as Drury, Dubinski and Callahan being the 3d or 4th line ?

I'm beginning to dislike Gilroy. He was a factor in Buffalo's first goal. He gets beat to a puck in his own zone, and doesn't hit the guy. He tries to poke check, spins in a circle in place and the Rangers pay for it.

Of course, Rozy was standing in the crease doing a whole lot of nothing.

The cap is SUPPOSED to discourage GMs from spending like a drunken Kennedy on players. Which means that, if your GM is an idiot, and gives away hefty contracts to garbage players (Redden), and sweetens the pot with things like no trade clauses, etc, you're likely to get screwed down the line.

Quite frankly, I like the thought of a salary cap because it makes the game more interesting by evening the playing field, and I'm sure it also helps to keep costs down to the fans, though I'll be damned if owners like Dolan give a damn anyway.

Slap Shot Quote Of The Week R.I.P. Reg

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So who am I?

I am Ranger fan and season ticket holder who is more than a little obsessed with hockey. The first thing I can remember is watching a Ranger game with my dad, listening to him yell "Shoot the puck Barry!" I loathe the Islanders, hate everyone else in the Atlantic and despise Mmmaarrrttttyyyy and Cindy. While I am a objective journalist in real life (seriously), this is NOT a media site and is kept quite far from my profession; it is simply an outlet for me to let loose my opinions of the Blueshirts - very distinctly Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. My Ranger rantings and ravings have appeared on (or been linked to) such notable sites as the New York Times, Puck Daddy, Deadspin and NBC's Pro Hockey Talk - and I can't thank them enough. Comments and criticism are always welcome within the boundaries of good taste; feel free to e-mail me at TrueBlueFan329@gmail.com.And you should follow me on Twitter: @ScottyHockey.

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